Drawing the Dark Avengers

Of all the books to spin out of Marvel's Dark Reign storyline, Dark Avengers is quickly yielding the most buzz and interest from fans. Not likely by coincidence, the series is also the one most shrouded in mystery - who are these new heroes? Some, like Ares, seem fairly obvious while others, like the Iron Patriot, have yet to be revealed. No doubt answers will be coming on January 21, when the first issue ships, but until then IGN will try to dig up a little more information.

Since we've already chatted with Brian Bendis about the series, we figured we'd let some of the art do the talking this week. First up we have today's interview with Mike Deodato Jr. Whether through his work on Amazing Spider-Man or more recently Thunderbolts and Wolverine Origins, Deodato has rarely been less than stellar. We asked the artist what we could, though he could obviously only say so much. We did manage to secure some of his concept art for the title's covers and characters though.

We're guessing our second article, due on Friday, will be even more appealing to the Dark Reign readers out there. IGN will be exclusively debuting art from Dark Avengers #1. Stay tuned for that. For now, let's get into the mind of Mr. Deodato.

IGN Comics: There's no doubt Dark Avengers seems to be a project suited for your art style, but how did you get assigned to the series? Did Brian specifically seek you out for the book or were you looking for some fresh characters to tackle?

Mike Deodato Jr.: I'm told there was a long search - by irate villagers with torches and pitchforks, trudging through that monstrous foreign land known as Pennsylvania. (Laughs) When all the creatures were felled, Brian Bendis looked across the torched landscape, and saw me there, shackled to my drawing table, not-insubstantial hair singed, my drawing table smouldering, and it was love at second site. Because we'd worked together on New Avengers awhile back, he wanted me.

IGN Comics: Between Thunderbolts, Wolverine Origins and now Dark, it seems you definitely have a particular flavor of superhero books that you work on – do you prefer comic books that are darker and twisted? Could you ever see yourself working on a series where people aren't getting stabbed, blown up and mutilated? –laughs-

Deodato: Sure! Give me that Millie the Model team-up with the Impossible Man from Planet Pop-Up, and I'm ready and rarin' to go! Years ago, I had myself convinced that I was purely an action artist who - despite my being called on to draw a lot of sexy females - thought I drew guys best. A lot has changed... wisdom with maturity, and all that.

I find myself looking forward to the opportunities of challenges. You may recall that I handled a considerable run on Spider-Man that had a lot less light-and-shadow, and a lot more straight-on character performance. That's because the over-the-top noir mood simply didn't seem right for the wall-crawlin', wit-crackin', friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

It just seems as though writers and editors lately enjoy handing me a lot of horrific stuff - terrible people doing terrible things, werewolves, zombies, and the like. So I'm adapting to what I'm being asked to draw. I do have other styles and rhythm - and I'm poised to take over drawing Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius any moment now! (Laughs)

IGN Comics: What artists do you look to for inspiration? Are there specific people within the industry or outside that have influenced your art significantly?

Deodato: It's some of the best of the classic guys, as you might expect - Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Berni Wrightson, Will Eisner, and Jim Steranko.

IGN Comics: I associate your art most with the use of shadow. How important is lighting to your work – would you ever work on a black and white project to emphasize that element or do you prefer a full color treatment of your work?

Deodato: Let's put it this way: About two or three times a year, I beg Marvel to do some black-and-white magazines like they used to, along of lines of their Savage Sword of Conan and Monsters Unleashed and Tales of the Zombie and Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction and so forth. I would love to work on books like that, so all of the intensity of the line is right there on the page.

Or, barring that, I'd love to see some of my recent work reprinted in a large-format black-and-white edition.

IGN Comics: I'm curious about photo referencing since that is a technique you use with your work. When do you utilize photo referencing? Do you use just one source or many? Do you think there are boundaries of what artists can and can't reference or how much is acceptable?

Deodato: I think the difference in my way of photo referencing and most other people's is, I'm not married to the photo references. Most artists, from what I've seen, assemble their references, then create their pages around their references. I do it backwards from there. I create my layouts the way I've always done them, out of my head, then I shoot new references or find references to match my layouts; in this way, I get all the energy and power that's often lacking from reference-based comics.

Every time I go to New York, for example, I shoot thousands of digital photos for reference. Buildings, toilet stalls, trash cans, graffiti, cabs, mailboxes, everything I can spot. I use it all. The authorities are probably eyeing me up, wondering what the heck I'm doing.

For every book I draw, I also shoot dozens and dozens of new shots of myself and my family in the poses I need. It's really pretty complicated and time-consuming, but it's also the best work of my career, and fans and editors all seem to be appreciating the extra time and effort.